Wright brothers recall special moment facing each other in NBA

The brotherhood is strong for the Warriors, and sometimes, it’s a real family tree. 

Steph Curry’s brother, Seth, plays for the Philadelphia 76ers. Steph’s brother-in-law and teammate, Damion Lee, hit the game-winning 3-pointer against the Bulls on Sunday. 

Warriors coach Jarron Collins and his twin, Jason, overlapped for 11 seasons in the NBA. 

And Warriors studio analyst Dorell Wright, whose 11-year career in the NBA includes a 2006 championship with the Miami Heat, will see his brother, Pistons guard Delon Wright, in action Tuesday when the Warriors close their four-game road trip in Detroit. 

With a seven-year age difference, the one-on-one battles for Dorell and Delon never felt like a fair fight. 

“We didn’t really start playing one-on-one until I was around 18,” Delon told NBC Sports Bay Area. “And he was in his prime in the NBA.” 

Both Dorell and Delon were first-round draft picks, in 2005 and 2015 respectively. The brothers went to the same high school, so Delon was often compared to Dorell. 

“My high school coach would always use that against me: 'You’re never going to be as good as your brother,' ” Delon said. “It motivated me.”

Download and subscribe to the Dubs Talk Podcast

 

The Wright brothers played against each other once in their careers on May 15, 2016. It was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between Dorell’s Heat and Delon’s Raptors.  

They overlapped on the court at the end of the game, with about two minutes to play. The Raptors were up big. 

“We got to play each other for like, 30 seconds one time," Delon recalled. "I wish I was able to get to the league earlier or he was able to play a little longer...I had an iso on him one time but I passed it, thinking that he was going to play some more years.”

Dorell’s laughter peppered Delon’s answer.

“That boy had nightmares,” Dorell claimed about the iso. “He thought he was back in the backyard when we were growing up. You better pass it.” 

“I didn’t want to embarrass you,” Delon said. 

RELATED: Three keys to Warriors beating Pistons

Dorell remembers he was so mad he lost to his little brother in Game 7 that he walked straight to the locker room. Dwyane Wade called Dorell back to the court to “take a dope picture” with Delon on the court.

Delon said they got a picture before Game 1 at half court too, at their mother’s request. 

Ahead of Warriors-Pistons on Tuesday night, Dorell gave little bro a compliment. 

“When he’s rebounding the basketball, he’s a good player, because everything else happens. He gets to the rim so easy…Shoot the shots with confidence man, listen boy!” Dorell exclaimed, changing his voice to speak with big brother authority. 

“Best shooter in the family!” Delon said.

“I don’t know about that,” Dorell added.